CAERNARFON MP Hywel Williams claimed up to £1,307.90 a month for his mortgage on his second home in London.

The Plaid politician has lived in the fifth floor flat in unfashionable Southwark, since he was elected to Parliament in June 2001.

In May 2004, he was claiming £829.50 a month mortgage costs, which by July 2007 had increased to £1,307.90 for the same flat, as part of his ACA (Additional Costs Allowance).

In March it emerged Mr Williams was North Wales’s costliest MP during 2007/8, claiming £165,765 in allowances, just ahead of Vale of Clwyd Labour MP Chris Ruane’s £159,935.

Mr Williams’ expenses accounts, opened up to the Daily Post yesterday, reveal he claimed a total of £1,312.84 for service, maintenance and ground rent for a six-month period for his flat, in June 2004.

In March 2006, he claimed £880 for Laura Ashley ‘Milton’ shelving - which he said he got in a seasonal sale with 20% off.

In a bid to prove this thriftiness the MP added that he once spent £99.99 on a TV he bought in Tottenham Court Road, which was small enough to carry home under his arm on the bus.

He claimed £50.75 on crockery in April 2005 and £37.77 on saucepans in October. In May 2006 he claimed £225 for a “light oak wax lined” bed from Alpha Beds and £195 for a mattress. In April 2007 he claimed £2,408.75 for a new hot water heater.

Mr Williams said claiming for a mortgage was cheaper than paying a monthly rent in London.

He said: “You have to have somewhere to live. I live in Southwark, one of the least-fashionable areas in inner London. I have lived in the same place in London and have not ‘flipped’ my claims.”